Saturday Night
by ShotgunOpera
Summary: ... and Two-Bit came blubberin over here with some tale about how you were running a fever before the rumble and how it was all his fault you were sick. He was pretty torn up that night ..." Saturday night, from Two-Bit's POV.


Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me, all credit goes to Susie. I don't make anything off of this.

A/N: This is my offering of Two-Bit for a one-shot. I hope you guys enjoy it. :) Thank you, RileysMomma, for picking up on the little mistakes. There's some very, very, very subtle Two-Bit/Darry slash, but only if you look real hard for it.

* * *

I practically ran out of the hospital; I couldn't take seeing Ponyboy hooked up to IVs and monitoring machines. Seeing him like that reminded me too much of Johnny and if Johnny died that meant Ponyboy could die, too.

That was something that I refused to think about, mainly because I knew that the reason he was sick and suffering was because of me. I had known that Ponyboy was sick before the rumble. I knew what it meant for him to participate in it but it wasn't worth his health! _Goddamnit, Two-Bit, can't you think?_

I walked almost aimlessly until I realized the familiar path that my feet were taking. Soon enough, Buck's place loomed in the distance and I upped my pace to a good jog to try to quiet my mind as if I was running from the voices that were taunting me. I was almost in a full-fledged sprint by the time I reached the door and I almost barreled into an unsuspecting couple.

Buck was behind the bar and I shouted my order out to him right as I walked in the door. By the time I made it to the bar my beer was already there waiting for me. I took a good, long swig from the bottle and then seated myself on a stool. The place was typically packed for a Saturday night, and many of the patrons had been at the rumble. They were loudly swapping stories and laughing and pushing each other around, unaware of the series of events that had just happened. The noise was almost deafening and while I usually didn't mind it too much, tonight I felt like my brain was going to pound out of my head.

A hand came down heavily on my shoulder and I almost jumped out of my skin. I looked up to see Tim Shepard standing there. "Hey, man, I heard something happened to Dallas," he stated simply.

_Boy, does he ever know how to get to the point._ I swallowed hard. _Yeah, something happened to Dallas,_ I thought. _Something real big._ Outwardly, I simply nodded and then said, "He's dead, Tim."

Tim's eyes widened slightly; either he hadn't been told it had been something that serious or he hadn't believed it. He paused a moment before he asked, "You sure?"

"Yeah, man, I'm sure. I saw him get shot down with my own two eyes."

"So it's true," Tim whispered, almost to himself.

"Johnny Cade died, too," I added, though I wasn't really sure why.

"The quiet kid that killed the soc?"

"Yeah, him. The other kid, Ponyboy, he's in the hospital. He's real sick."

"How bad?"

"Dunno. I didn't stick around long enough to find out."

At that point one of Tim's cronies, Tommy Barden, came and whispered something in Tim's ear. It must have been something important because a short wave goodbye later I was sitting by myself again.

After spending quality time at Buck's place I considered myself finished for the night when I could no longer remember how many beers I'd had. As I staggered out into the street, I briefly wondered where I should go. I didn't really feel like going home just yet – I didn't like being staggering drunk around my little sister – but the Curtis' place was sure to be open.

However I simply stumbled into a dark, empty house. I was puzzled as to why no one was home until I remembered.

Ponyboy was sick and it was all my fault. Darry – oh god, what was he going to do to me? – he had told me to look after Ponyboy, and glory what a bang-up job I did with that. I sat down hard on the couch, forgetting how close to the ground it was, and rested my head in my hands.

Suddenly the tears started coming as the events of the night finally caught up to me. Dallas and Johnny were gone, and now Ponyboy was sick and lord only knew how bad. Why did I let Ponyboy go ahead and fight? I'd had plenty of chances to tell Darry about it; hell, I was sitting in the living room when Darry said Pony didn't look so hot. But no, I'd kept my big mouth shut for once.

I was sobbing so hard I barely registered the door opening and it wasn't until heavy boots scraped the floor that I looked up to see Darry. _Shit,_ was all that went through my mind.

"Two-Bit, what's wrong?" Darry asked me quietly, almost gently if Darry Curtis could be considered gentle in any way.

"God, Darry, it's all my fault," I said before I was overcome by a new wave of tears.

Darry crossed the floor and sat down next to me on the couch. I felt the weight of his hand on my shoulder and even though I was probably aiming for a whooping from him, it was comforting. "It's my fault," I said again.

"What's your fault?"

"Ponyboy. It's all my fault. He was runnin' a fever before the rumble. I should have told you, he never shoulda fought in the rumble …" I was simply babbling at that point, unable to keep my drunken mouth shut.

I felt Darry's hand grip my shoulder. "Listen, Two-Bit, Ponyboy's ok. He got a concussion in the rumble and he's running a fever but he's going to be ok. I was coming back to get some clothes for him before we bring him home."

I looked at him, almost in disbelief. "The kid's ok?"

Darry nodded. "The kid's ok."

Tears of relief flooded my eyes and I heard myself babbling some more before Darry cut me off and asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital to see him. I decided against it – I didn't want to be a bawling mess in front of the guys – but I did ask for a ride home. My head was starting to clear and I just wanted to go to bed after all the excitement.

I must have fallen asleep on the ride because no sooner than I had closed my eyes to rest them, Darry was shaking my shoulder and whispering in my ear, "Two-Bit, you're home."

I waved goodbye as Darry backed out of the driveway before I turned to face my house. I took a deep breath of the cool night air and before I knew it I was laughing. _The kid's ok._ That was the only thought that went through my mind as I stepped through my door, and it was my last thought as I collapsed on my bed. _The kid's ok._


End file.
